The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society is especially grateful to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Vancouver for inviting VAHMS to its thematic cultural and creative economy promotional program named “A Quick Journey to Indonesia: Discover its Uniqueness.” The event showcased the rich and diverse culture of Indonesia, such as delicious cuisine, wood carvings, musical instruments, traditional dances, and beautiful garments. Several Indonesian businesses across B.C. were featured, such as The Batik Library, Cantiq Living, Casamia Home, Pernakan Kitchen, and Archipelago Marketplace.
Around 100 business people, government officials, media-persons, and entrepreneurs attended the event and instantly fell in love with what Indonesia has to offer. VAHMS is excited to collaborate with the Consulate General over the coming year and for explorASIAN 2022 to showcase the phenomenal beauty of Indonesia. Until then, below are some photos from the event of the traditional dance and garments, and of Leticia Sanchez, the President of VAHMS, with the Consul General of Indonesia, Mr. Hendra Halim:
The Vancouver Ikebana Association will be presenting the 2021 Fall Show on October 10 from 10:30-4pm. Japanese style floral arrangements will be artistically displayed in the main hall of the Nikkei Cultural Centre on Thanksgiving Sunday. Demonstrations will take place by master instructors between 12:30-3:30pm.
The event is open to anyone, and admission is by donation. Funds will go towards helping the Vancouver Ikebana Association continue to host and promote floral arts and Japanese cultural events within the community.
My subject matter is greatly influenced by where I am and places I long for. Drawing and designing has always been a way for me to understand and grow closer to a subject through exploration, research and problem solving.
By interpreting Gastown in a stylized manner, I must ask myself what are the visual elements that make Gastown special to me and how I can depict the essence or feeling of what it is like to be there.
My series of designs of a South East Asian inspired market is brought on by my fascination and love for night markets and my memories of exploring them in Vietnam. It is a way to feel as if I’m there while not being able to, as well as strengthen my design abilities to improve my craft.
Nicolas Ky is a Vancouver based artist currently working as a designer in the animation industry. He graduated from Emily Carr University of Design with a bachelors in Illustration. He works in a digital medium using Photoshop and Blender to suit his workflow. He normally illustrates fictional and nonfictional environments and objects that he identifies with as a means to understand them further.
September 30, 2021 marks the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada as well as Orange Shirt Day. The latter is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that dates back to the Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC in May 2013. On that day, Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, shared her experience of her first day of school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her. Her story has become a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations in the Residential School system. Orange Shirt day, and now the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the Survivors of the Indian Residential Schools and remembers those who did not.
The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society and explorASIAN Festival are hosted by and situated on the traditional, ancestral, and shared territories of the s?wx?wú7mesh (Squamish), the sel?íl?witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and the x?m??k??y??m (Musqueam) nations in the city colonially known as Vancouver. The team at VAHMS acknowledges the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples and their lands where we work and thrive. We acknowledge the hundred of years of suffering and the resurgence of the Indigenous peoples of these lands. We believe that no matter where we are from or how much we know about Indigenous history; there are always opportunities to see ourselves allied with Indigenous people, Indigenous Lands, and Indigenous sovereignty. We have the responsibility to recognize and change our bias to start to build equitable relationships based on openness and sincerity, so we can move towards true reconciliation.
The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society’s mission and mandate of promoting inclusion, cultural diversity recognises heritage as the representation of all people and culture and acknowledges the harm that racist actions have inflicted on Indigenous peoples, and minorities. We appreciate the opportunity to support the learning, appreciation, and respect of First Nations communities’ protocols, rich knowledge, and heritage traditions. We are committed to working toward increasing strategies and involvement with indigenous Peoples and cultural groups to generate positive change among all communities.
We want to encourage wearing orange this coming September 30th to honour those who suffered in residential schools and to recognize all who are working to heal and recover the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples.
we the same is a play inspired by true events. In 1979 a Vietnamese family, a mother with six young children separated from their father on the sea, flee Communist Vietnam by boat, surviving pirate attacks, typhoons, shipwreck, starvation and more. The story weaves between past and the present, memory and truth, adventure and fantasy, secrets and forgiveness, vulnerability and courage; as an immigrant mother tells her Canadian-raised daughter the story for the first time. This production includes ritual dance, shadow play, live music and animation. Livestreaming Nov 3rd to 7th through the Cultch. Trigger warning: sexualized violence.
Get your 20% discount with promo code “Journey”
VAHMS community members get access to an exclusive 20% discount on solo party (one viewer) or bubble party (two viewers in a household) tickets using the promo code is “Journey”. Interested parties can either call the Box Office quoting the promo code or book online using the link below. The Box Office is open 12-4 pm Monday through Friday.
Uzume Taiko celebrates Culture Days 2021 with two specially filmed Performance Events and an Interactive Virtual Taiko Drumming Workshop suitable for all ages! The two 40-minute Performance Events capture the taiko drummers up close and personal in the intimate Taiko Studio setting. Join us for a potpourri of powerful drum beats, rhythmic precision and choreographed movement.
Sat Sept 25 2021 at 7pm PDT – “Uzume Taiko: An Intimate Portrait” – Part 1 Online Performance Event
Sat Oct 9 2021 at Noon PDT – Interactive Virtual Taiko Drumming Workshop – Online Zoom Event
Sat Oct 23 2021 at 7pm PDT – “Uzume Taiko: An Intimate Portrait” – Part 2 Online Performance Event
The “Uzume Taiko: An Intimate Portrait” Series is a collection of our favourite taiko songs that were recorded during the Spring of 2021. Taiko drummers performing in these Events are Jason Overy, Jordy Riley, Bonnie Soon, Boyd Seiichi Grealy and Andrew Czink. Part 2 in this series will be broadcast on Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 7pm PDT.
The Interactive Virtual Taiko Drumming Workshop is a 60-minute session suitable for all ages and led live by Uzume Taiko drummers from their Richmond Taiko Studio by Zoom. Taiko drumming is a fun experience that will energize, stimulate and excite! Participants use DIY drums and drumsticks from home and engage in warm-up exercises, martial arts stance and drum sticking techniques. Taiko playing integrates the mind, body and spirit.
These three Events are free or pay-what-you-may. Donors receive charitable tax donation receipts.
With this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society is excited to present Mooncakes, a children’s book written by Loretta Seto. Mooncakes is the lyrical story of a young girl who shares the special celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival with her parents. As they eat mooncakes, drink tea and watch the night sky together, Mama and Baba tell ancient tales of a magical tree that can never be cut down, the Jade Rabbit who came to live on the moon and one brave woman’s journey to eternal life. With a gentle focus on the importance of family, Mooncakes is a perfect book for parent and child to read together during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Mooncakes is available on Amazon, Kidsbooks, and Indigo Chapters:
Loretta Seto is a screenwriter, children’s book author, and award-winning playwright. Her play Dirty Old Woman was a smash hit at the 2014 Vancouver Fringe Festival, enjoying a completely sold-out run, and winning the Pick of the Fringe and The Cultchivating the Fringe awards. The play was remounted in April 2016 at The Cultch, again selling out its entire run and garnering more positive reviews. Her latest play, The Ones We Leave Behind, was developed and produced by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, and had a successful run at The Cultch in 2018, winning a Jessie Richardson award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Alannah Ong).
Loretta is the author of the children’s picture book Mooncakes (Orca Books), which is now in its 5th print run and has a 5-star review on Amazon.ca. She is also a co-founder of Wet Ink Collective, an initiative that supports the creation, development and production of new stage- and screenplays written by women.
Having earned her MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, Loretta is excited by the challenges she faces writing in different genres. She is currently developing a feature-length screenplay Kung Fu Zombies, a satirical comedy horror which explores the topic of race relations and the fallout that occurs when a virus strikes Chinatown, turning its inhabitants into flesh-eating zombies.
Are you an immigrant or refugee woman interested in writing?
September 21 to November 23, 2021 * 10 Meetings * 5:30-8pm at the BMO Theatre Centre
Private performance coaching follows * Final performances in January 2022
What will we do?
Twelve women will work with Vancouver writer Caroline Adderson to create a 600-word personal memoir about their journey to Canada, told through a pair of shoes. The writing component is followed by voice coaching and a public performance of the stories.
Who are we looking for?
Women (age 18 to 80) who have immigrated or come as refugees to Canada as adults (and did not go through the Canadian school system) and who have learned English as an additional language.
They want to tell their story, are interested in others’ stories, and want to be able to write expressively in English.
Recent participants have come from Syria, China, Kurdistan, Iran, Brazil, Philippines, Tibet, Nepal, Russia, Columbia, Eritria, Somalia and more. All are welcome!
Participants must commit to the entire program; we pay for the right to publish the completed stories.
Right: Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun, Blood Moon, 2019, acrylic on canvas. Photo: Barb Choit Left: Lam Wong, Museum of Psychiatry and Love, 2019, oil and acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun + Lam Wong (???) Sept 23 to Dec 23, 2021 Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
LOOK TOWARDS THE SUN is an artistic exchange between Lam Wong, a Chinese Canadian diaspora artist from Hong Kong and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, an artist of Cowichan and Syilx First Nations ancestry. All living beings and spirits are interconnected. We reside under the same sun. Creating reflection and dialogue on environmental concerns and the interconnectedness of place, people, and culture is at the essence of this exhibition.
Yuxweluptun’s bold paintings unreservedly celebrate and assert Indigenous ways of living and being. His work shines a powerful light on Indigenous title, rights, and sovereignty on unceded territories. Wong’s expressive paintings and contemplations as an immigrant shape his practice as the artist-in-residence at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. This show includes a personal response to the horrific findings of the remains of 215 children buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, the school that Yuxweluptun is a survivor of.
As communities combat the harmful impacts of anti-Indigenous and anti-Asian racism, we are reminded by Yuxweluptun and Wong to look towards the sun – to continually seek and reveal truth, to look within, to unlearn, to create connections, to reclaim, to restore, to more fully know who we are as individuals and nations. This exhibition is held on traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the xwm??kw?y??m (Musqueam), S?wx?wú7mesh (Squamish), and s?l’ilw??ta?? (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
Interested in gaining board experience or know someone who does? If so, then please click through to our Board Nomination portal to learn more about the nomination process and submit your self or your nominee for consideration. You may wish to learn more about our mandate and history before submitting, and you can do so, here.
All submissions will be reviewed by our Board Nominations Committee. Prospective candidates will then be contacted for an interview. Successful candidates will be officially confirmed at our AGM in January 2022.
VAHMS values the contributions that individuals who identify as members of marginalized communities bring to our organization. We encourage Indigenous people, people of colour, people with disabilities, people identifying as LGBTQI+, and newcomers to apply. We also understand that applicants may experience a number of these identities simultaneously in ways that reinforce and nuance their experience. We are committed to creating an organization as diverse as the communities we serve.
We are always looking for new people who are interested in supporting our mission to foster, promote and celebrate the cultural diversity that Asian-Canadian communities bring to Canadian society. While our signature project is explorASIAN Festival which takes place in May, there are opportunities to get involved with our projects and programming year-round, including planning and producing events, graphic design, fundraising, community outreach, website design – and much more.
We would love to learn a bit more about you and your interests. It is important to us that your involvement at VAHMS enriches your own life as well. Please answer the questions below to the best of your ability, and if you have any questions about us or the work we do, please email our Executive Director Jasper Sloan Yip at Office.vahms@gmail.com.
Thank you for your time, we are looking forward to hearing from you!
